By HERBIE GOMEZ Editor in chief SEN. Francis Escudero has hurled brickbats at Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte even as he called him the most dangerous of  the candidates for the presidency. “Based on his pronouncements, he is [the most dangerous],” Escudero said during a news conference here on Friday. He cited Duterte’s claims that he has no problems in killing suspected criminals, his controversial rape joke about an Australian missionary who was killed and raped during a hostage crisis in Davao in 1989, and the way the mayor threatened to sever Philippine ties with Australia and the US after their ambassadors issued statements in response to his rape joke. The problem, said Escudero, is that Duterte cannot be charged in court because of the things that he has been saying. “Hindi naman bawal ang magyabang (It’s not unlawful to brag),” he told reporters. Duterte has emerged as the presidential frontrunner in a country where citizens are exasperated because of government failures. The Davao mayor has offered a quick fix: an iron hand against criminals, and federalism. Escudero said Duterte’s claims about what he did to criminals in Davao could not be independently confirmed. “I really don’t know if his claims are true or not,” Escudero said. He said Duterte’s promise to change the form of government to federalism also requires details. “I have no problems with federalism but where are the details?” he asked rhetorically. He said Duterte’s running mate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has not made any proposal or  filed any federalismelated bill since he was elected senator.